CoreLogic Identifies Flood and Wildfire as the Two Most Destructive Natural Hazards in 2017

February 7, 2018 by Tom Jeffery, Senior Hazard Scientist

This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic.

CoreLogic® analyzes and evaluates the number and severity of natural hazard events that occur across the U.S. in its Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis in order to help inform and protect homeowners and businesses from financial catastrophe. The annual report reviews hazard activity for flooding, earthquake, wildfire, wind, hail, tornado and hurricanes, with spotlights on specific international events.

The CoreLogic data shows relatively average activity for most U.S. natural hazards in 2017 with the exception of wildfires in California and flooding as a result of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. A snapshot of the data includes:

In the past year, flooding from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma resulted in an estimated $69 billion to $105 billion in residential and commercial damage. The breakdown of residential and commercial damage can be seen below:

The majority of flood damage resulting from the two storms was uninsured—at 75 percent uninsured from Harvey and 80 percent uninsured from Irma.

California and the Midwest also experienced significant rainfall that resulted in flooding. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), total property loss from the California winter floods is estimated at $1.5 billion and total property loss from the Midwest (between Oklahoma and Ohio) April/May flooding is estimated at $1.7 billion.

Overall, Hurricane activity in the Atlantic was higher than average in 2017 with 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes and six major hurricanes, which are identified as Category 3 or greater.

Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm that made landfall in Texas, caused an estimated $1 billion to $2 billion in insured wind and storm surge loss to both residential and commercial properties. Hurricane Irma, a Category 4 storm that made landfall in South Florida, caused an estimated $14 billion to $19 billion in insured wind and storm surge loss to both residential and commercial properties.

Similarly, 2017 was a landmark year for wildfire in the U.S. The total number of acres burned (9,791,062 acres) is the third highest in U.S. history, preceded by 2015 (10,125,149 acres) and 2006 (9,873,745 acres).

The 10 most destructive wildfires in 2017, in terms of structures destroyed, were in California and include:

The Tubbs Fire in northern California which burned 36,807 acres and 5,643 structures

Until the Tubbs Fire, the two worst wildfires in California history – Tunnel in 1991 and Cedar in 2003 – destroyed 5,720 structures combined